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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
, the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support alongside other states of the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to engage in the conflict. The first campaign that Australians were involved in was in
German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...
after a hastily raised force known as the
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Gui ...
was dispatched in September 1914 from Australia and seized and held German possessions in the Pacific. At the same time another expeditionary force, initially consisting of 20,000 men and known as the
First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Au ...
(AIF), was raised for service overseas. The AIF departed Australia in November 1914 and, after several delays due to the presence of German naval vessels in the Indian Ocean, arrived in Egypt, where they were initially used to defend the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...
. In early 1915, however, it was decided to carry out an amphibious landing on the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...
peninsula with the goal of opening up a second front and securing the passage of the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
. The Australians and
New Zealanders New Zealanders ( mi, Tāngata Aotearoa), colloquially known as Kiwis (), are people associated with New Zealand, sharing a common history, culture, and language (New Zealand English). People of various ethnicities and national origins are citiz ...
, grouped together as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), went ashore on 25 April 1915 and for the next eight months the Anzacs, alongside their British, French and other allies, fought a costly and ultimately unsuccessful campaign against the Turks. The force was evacuated from the peninsula in December 1915 and returned to Egypt, where the AIF was expanded. In early 1916 it was decided that the infantry divisions would be sent to France, where they took part in many of the major battles fought on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
. Most of the light horse units remained in the Middle East until the end of the war, carrying out further operations against the Turks in Egypt and Palestine. Small numbers of Australians served in other theatres of war. Although the main focus of the Australian military's effort was the ground war, air and naval forces were also committed. Squadrons of the
Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
served in the Middle East and on the Western Front while elements of the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...
carried out operations in the Atlantic,
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
,
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...
and
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, as well as the Pacific and Indian Oceans. By the end of the war, Australians were far more circumspect. The nation's involvement cost more than 60,000 Australian lives and many more were left unable to work as a result of their injuries. The impact of the war was felt in many other areas as well. Financially it was very costly. The effect on the social and political landscape was considerable and threatened to cause serious divides in the nation's social fabric.
Conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to Ancient history, antiquity and it continues in some countries to th ...
was possibly the most contentious issue and ultimately, despite having conscription for home service, Australia was one of only three combatants not to use conscripts in the fighting. Nevertheless, for many Australians the nation's involvement in World War I and the Gallipoli campaign was seen as a symbol of its emergence as an international actor, while many of the notions of the Australian character and nationhood that exist today have their origins in the war, and
Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Ne ...
is commemorated as a national holiday.


Outbreak of the war

On 30 July 1914, the British government informed the Australian government via an encoded telegram that a declaration of war was likely. The message came during the lead-up to the 1914 federal election, meaning parliament was not in session and key political figures were spread around the country campaigning. Prime Minister
Joseph Cook Sir Joseph Cook, (7 December 1860 – 30 July 1947) was an Australian politician who served as the sixth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1913 to 1914. He was the leader of the Liberal Party from 1913 to 1917, after earlier servin ...
spoke at
Horsham, Victoria Horsham () is a regional city in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, Australia. Located on a bend in the Wimmera River, Horsham is approximately northwest of the state capital Melbourne. As of the 2021 Census, Horsham had a population of 20 ...
, on 31 July, telling an election meeting to "remember that when the Empire is at war, so is Australia at war ..all our resources in Australia are in the Empire and for the Empire and for the preservation and security of the Empire". On the same day, Opposition Leader
Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...
was speaking at
Colac, Victoria Colac is a small city in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac. History For thousands of years clans of the Gulidjan people occupied the region o ...
, and promised that "Australians will stand beside our own to help and defend her to our last man and our last shilling". An emergency cabinet meeting – at which only five out of ten ministers were present – was convened in Melbourne on 3 August, with the government deciding that it would offer to send an expeditionary force of 20,000 men. The
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
declared war on 4 August at 11 p.m. (5 August at 8 a.m. Melbourne time), and Australia and the other
Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
s were considered to be "automatically" at war as well. At 12:45 p.m. on 5 August, Cook announced to the press in his office that "I have received the following despatch from the Imperial government: 'war has broken out in Germany'". Given the predominantly British heritage of most Australians at the time, there was considerable support from all corners of the country and large numbers of young Australian men reported to recruiting centres around the country to enlist in the following months. Within days, plans for an Australian expeditionary force were completed by
Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
William Throsby Bridges Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges, (18 February 1861 – 18 May 1915) was a senior Australian Army officer who was instrumental in establishing the Royal Military College, Duntroon and who served as the first Australian Chief of the ...
and his staff officer, Major Cyril Brudenell Bingham White. White proposed a force of 18,000 men (12,000 Australians and 6,000 New Zealanders). This proposal was approved by Prime Minister Cook but he increased the offer to the British of 20,000 men to serve in any destination desired by the Home Government. On 6 August 1914, London cabled its acceptance of the force and asked that it be sent as soon as possible. Recruiting offices opened on 10 August 1914 and by the end of 1914, 52,561 volunteers had been accepted, although strict physical fitness guidelines were put in place.


German New Guinea

In 1884, Germany had colonised the north eastern part of
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torres ...
and several nearby island groups. By the outbreak of the war, the Germans had been using the colony as a wireless radio base, and supporting the German East Asia Squadron which threatened merchant shipping in the region. As a consequence, Britain required the wireless installations to be destroyed. Shortly after the outbreak of war—following a request by the
British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
on 6 August 1914—the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) began forming. The objectives of the force were the German stations at Yap in the
Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the ce ...
, Nauru and at
Rabaul Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
,
New Britain New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the D ...
. The AN&MEF comprised one battalion of infantry (1,023 men) enlisted in Sydney, 500 naval reservists and ex-sailors organised into six companies who would serve as infantry and a further 500 men from the Kennedy Regiment, a Queensland
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
battalion that had volunteered for overseas service and had been sent to garrison
Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...
. Together, these forces were placed under the command of Colonel William Holmes, an officer in the militia who was at the time commander of the 6th Brigade and secretary of the Sydney Water and Sewerage Board. The task force sailed from Sydney on 19 August 1914, and hove to off Port Moresby where they waited for their escorts to arrive. While they were at Port Moresby, Holmes decided to disembark the Queensland militia soldiers due to concerns about their preparedness for action. Escorted by the cruiser ''Sydney'' and the battlecruiser ''Australia'', the task force reached Rabaul on 11 September 1914 and found that the port was free of German forces. ''Sydney'' and the destroyer landed small parties of naval reservists at the settlements of Kabakaul and the German gubernatorial capital
Herbertshöhe Kokopo is the capital of East New Britain Province in Papua New Guinea. It is administered under Kokopo-Vunamami Urban LLG. The capital was moved from Rabaul in 1994 when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted. As a result, the population of th ...
on Neu-Pommern, south-east of Rabaul. These parties were reinforced first by sailors from HMAS ''Warrego'' and and later by infantry from the transport . A small 25-man force of naval reservists was subsequently landed at Kabakaul Bay and continued inland to capture the radio station believed to be in operation at Bita Paka, to the south. The Australians were resisted by a mixed force of German reservists and Melanesian native police, who forced them to fight their way to the radio station. By nightfall, the radio station was reached and it was found to have been abandoned, the mast dropped but its instruments and machinery intact. During the
Battle of Bita Paka The Battle of Bita Paka (11 September 1914) was fought south of Kabakaul, on the island of New Britain, and was a part of the invasion and subsequent occupation of German New Guinea by the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (A ...
six Australians were killed and five wounded, while the defenders lost one German
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
(NCO) and about 30 Melanesians killed, and one German and ten Melanesians wounded. Later it was alleged that the heavy losses among the Melanesian troops was the result of the Australians bayoneting all those they had captured during the fighting. As a result of this engagement,
Able Seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination o ...
W.G.V. Williams became the first Australian fatality of the war. The first Army fatality was a medical officer, Captain B. C. A. Pockley, who died the same day. At nightfall on 12 September, the ''Berrima'' landed the AN&MEF infantry battalion at Rabaul. The following afternoon, although the governor had not yet surrendered the territory, a ceremony was carried out to signal the British occupation of New Britain. The German administration had withdrawn inland to Toma and at dawn on 14 September, and subsequently bombarded a ridge near the town, while half a battalion advanced towards the town supported by a
field gun A field gun is a field artillery piece. Originally the term referred to smaller guns that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances ( field artill ...
. The show of firepower was sufficient to start negotiations, ending the siege of Toma following the surrender of the remaining garrison of 40 Germans and 110 native police. The German territory surrendered on 17 September 1914. Although successful the operation was arguably not well managed, and the Australians had been effectively delayed by a half-trained native force. Regardless, the Australians had prevailed not least of all because of their unexpected ability to fight in close terrain, while the outflanking of the German positions had unnerved their opponents. The losses of the AN&MEF were light in the context of later operations but were sufficiently heavy given the relatively modest gain. These losses were further compounded by the unexplained disappearance of the Australian submarine during a patrol off Rabaul on 14 September, with 35 men aboard. Following the capture of German possessions in the region, the AN&MEF provided occupation forces for the duration of the war. On 9 January 1915, Holmes handed over command of the AN&MEF to Brigadier General Sir Samuel Pethebridge, the former Secretary of the
Department of Defence Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
. Holmes returned to Australia and re-enlisted in the AIF, as did most of his men. They were replaced by the 3rd Battalion, known as the "Tropical Force" because it had been specially enlisted for service in the tropics. Pethebridge established the administrative structures that remained through the period of military occupation. Although required by
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
to follow the German forms of government, the territory gradually acquired the appearance of a British colony.


First Australian Imperial Force

At the start of the war, Australia's military forces were focused upon the militia and what Regular forces existed were mostly serving in the artillery or engineers and were assigned in most part to the task of coastal defence. Due to the provisions of the ''Defence Act 1903'', which precluded sending conscripts overseas, upon the outbreak of war it was realised that a totally separate, all volunteer force would need to be raised. This force was known as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The AIF began forming shortly after the outbreak of war and was the brain child of Bridges and White. Upon formation, the AIF consisted of only one infantry division, the 1st Division, and the 1st Light Horse Brigade. The 1st Division was made up of the 1st Infantry Brigade under Colonel Henry MacLaurin; the 2nd, under Colonel
James Whiteside McCay Lieutenant General Sir James Whiteside McCay, (21 December 1864 – 1 October 1930), who often spelt his surname M'Cay, was an Australian general and politician. A graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he earned Master of Arts an ...
, an Australian politician and former
Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
; and the
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...
, under Colonel Ewen Sinclair-Maclagan, a British regular officer seconded to the Australian Army before the war. The 1st Light Horse Brigade was commanded by Colonel Harry Chauvel, an Australian regular, while the divisional artillery was commanded by Colonel Talbot Hobbs. In the early stages of mobilisation the men of the AIF were selected under some of the toughest criteria of any army in World War I and it is believed that roughly 30 per cent of men that applied were rejected on medical grounds. In order to enlist, men had to be aged between 18 and 35 years of age (although it is believed that men as old as 70 and as young as 14 managed to enlist), and they had to be at least five-foot six inches tall (168 centimetres), with a chest measurement of at least 34 inches (86 centimetres). Many of these strict requirements were lifted later in the war, however, as the need for replacements grew. Indeed, casualties among the initial volunteers were so high, that of the 32,000 original soldiers of the AIF only 7,000 would survive to the end of the war. The initial response was so good that in September 1914 the decision was made to raise the 4th Infantry Brigade and 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigades. The 4th Infantry Brigade was commanded by Colonel
John Monash General Sir John Monash, (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the First World War. He commanded the 13th Infantry Brigade before the war and then, shortly after its outbreak, became c ...
, a prominent Melbourne
civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...
and businessman. The AIF continued to grow through the war, eventually numbering five infantry divisions, two mounted divisions and a mixture of other units. A sixth infantry division, the 6th Division, was partially formed in the United Kingdom February 1917. Casualties from the
First Battle of Bullecourt Bullecourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in France. Geography Bullecourt lies on the Upper Cretaceous plain of Artois between Arras and Bapaume and east of the A1 motorway. Thisatellite photograph ...
and the Battle of Messines caused the disbandment of the partially formed unit to allow the other five divisions to be brought back up to strength.


Gallipoli


Background

The 1st Division departed Australia from
Albany, Western Australia Albany ( ; nys, Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is ...
on 1 November 1914 in convoy of 10 transports escorted by several British, Australian and Japanese warships. Initially bound for British-controlled
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
, with a stopover in Ceylon, the convoy had been delayed several times due to fears of interception by German warships in the area. These fears later proved valid when the German cruiser ''
Emden Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528. History The exact founding date of ...
'' was sighted off
Cocos Island Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntare ...
. As the convoy steered to avoid the threat, the Australian cruiser , engaged the ''Emden'' with her heavier guns and after an engagement that lasted only twenty-five minutes, the ''Sydney'' emerged victorious. The threat of the German Squadron neutralised, the convoy was able to continue its voyage unmolested. Upon their arrival in Egypt in November, the 1st Division moved to Camp Mena, near
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
, where they were used to defend the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popula ...
against Turkey who had declared war on 29 October. During this time, the Australians commenced a period of training to prepare them for combat on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...
as it was still expected that they would be sent to England for deployment in the European theatre. As they waited, however, the Australian and New Zealand forces in Egypt at the time were formed into the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) under the command of British Army Lieutenant General
William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...
, and consisting of the Australian 1st Division and the composite
New Zealand and Australian Division The New Zealand and Australian Division was a composite army division raised for service in the First World War under the command of Major General Alexander Godley. Consisting of several mounted and standard infantry brigades from both New Zea ...
(NZ&A). Overcrowding and shortages of equipment in England meant that it was decided to keep the Anzacs in Egypt during the European winter, during which time they would undertake further training in order to prepare them for their eventual use in the trenches in France. Despite this, however, the training that the Australians and New Zealanders received in this time could be considered only very rudimentary in nature, and despite popular opinion at the time, it did little to prepare them for what was to come. In the background, though, moves were being made to commit the Australians and New Zealanders elsewhere. Later in November,
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
, in his capacity as
First Lord of the Admiralty The First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible for the di ...
, put forward his first plans for a naval attack on the
Dardanelles The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
. A plan for an attack and invasion of the
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...
peninsula was eventually approved by the British cabinet in January 1915. It was decided that the Australian and New Zealand troops would take part in the operation, although they were outnumbered by the British, Indian and French contingents, a fact which is often overlooked today by many Australians and New Zealanders. The objective of the invasion was to open up another front against the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in W ...
and to open the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
's only entrance to the Mediterranean, via the Dardanelles and
Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...
, to allow shipping to Russia all year round. After the failure of naval attacks, it was decided that ground forces were necessary to eliminate the Turkish mobile artillery and allow minesweepers to clear the waters for larger vessels. The British
Secretary of State for War The Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, which existed from 1794 to 1801 and from 1854 to 1964. The Secretary of State for War headed the War Office and ...
,
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Lord Kitchener, appointed
General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...
Sir Ian Hamilton to command the
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force The Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) was the part of the British Army during World War I that commanded all Allied forces at Gallipoli and Salonika. It was formed in March 1915, under the command of General Sir Ian Hamilton, at the begi ...
(MEF) that was to carry out the mission. The MEF consisted of Birdwood's ANZAC,
British 29th Division The 29th Division, known as the ''Incomparable Division'', was an infantry division of the British Army, formed in early 1915 by combining various Regular Army units that had been acting as garrisons around the British Empire. Under the command o ...
, British
Royal Naval Division The 63rd (Royal Naval) Division was a United Kingdom infantry division of the First World War. It was originally formed as the Royal Naval Division at the outbreak of the war, from Royal Navy and Royal Marine reservists and volunteers, who wer ...
and the French
Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient The Corps Expeditionnaire d'Orient (Oriental Expeditionary Force) (CEO) was a French Expeditionary Force raised for service during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I. The corps initially consisted of a single infantry division, but later gr ...
. Some 40,000 Russian troops would participate in the capture or occupation of
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
.


Landing at Anzac Cove

The invasion plan was for the 29th Division to land at Cape Helles on the tip of the peninsula and then advance upon the forts at Kilitbahir. The Anzacs were to land north of
Gaba Tepe Kabatepe, or Gaba Tepe, is a headland overlooking the northern Aegean Sea in what is now the Gallipoli Peninsula National Historical Park ( tr), on the Gallipoli peninsula in northwestern Turkey. During the First World War, the headland was the ...
on the Aegean coast from where they could advance across the peninsula and prevent retreat from or reinforcement of Kilitbahir. The Anzac assault force, the 3rd Brigade of the Australian 1st Division, began to go ashore shortly before dawn at 4:30 am on 25 April 1915. The intended landing zone was a broad front centred about a mile north of Gaba Tepe, however, possibly due to navigational error or an unexpected current, the landing went awry and the boats concentrated about a mile and a half further north than intended in a shallow, nameless cove between Ari Burnu to the north and Hell Spit to the south. Since 1985, the cove has been officially known as Anzac Koyu (Anzac Cove). The Anzacs were confronted by a treacherous, confusing tangle of ravines and spurs that descended from the heights of the Sarı Baır range to the sea. The landing was only lightly opposed by scattered Turkish units until Mustafa Kemal, commanding the 19th Division and perceiving the threat posed by the landings, rushed reinforcements to the area in what became a race for the high ground. The contest for the heights was decided on the second ridge line where the Anzacs and Turks fought over a knoll called Baby 700. The position changed hands a number of times on the first day before the Turks, having the advantage of the higher ground on Battleship Hill, took final possession of it. Once the Anzac advance was checked, the Turks counter-attacked, trying to force the invaders back to the shore, but failed to dislodge them from the foothold they had gained. A trench perimeter quickly developed and a bloody stalemate ensued until August.


Krithia

In May 1915, Hamilton decided to concentrate his resources in the Helles sector. Birdwood withdrew Colonel McCay's 2nd Infantry Brigade and the New Zealand Infantry Brigade and they moved by sea to Cape Helles on 6 May. During the subsequent Second Battle of Krithia the two brigades suffered 1,827 casualties, including McCay, in an ill-advised daylight advance over open ground that could have been occupied after dark without loss. During May Turkish snipers were particularly active in Monash Valley. On 15 May, one shot and fatally wounded Major General Bridges. His body was returned to Australia and buried on the hill overlooking
Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...
in
Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. The Australian government sent Major General
James Gordon Legge Lieutenant General James Gordon Legge, (15 August 1863 – 18 September 1947) was an Australian Army senior officer who served in the First World War and was the Chief of the General Staff, Australia's highest ranking army officer between 191 ...
from Australia to replace him.


Turkish counter-attack

On 19 May 1915, the Turkish launched an assault against the Anzac perimeter. Forewarned by naval reconnaissance aircraft, the troops were on alert and the position was reinforced by the return of the 2nd and New Zealand Infantry Brigades from Cape Helles and the arrival of the 1st Light Horse Brigade and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade from Egypt. Along most of the line, the attack met with immediate disaster, with the Turkish attackers swept away by the rifle and machine gun fire of the Anzac defenders. At Courtney's Post, one of the most exposed parts of the perimeter, the Turks managed to enter the trenches but there they encountered Lance Corporal Albert Jacka and others, who drove them out again. For his action, Jacka became the first Australian to win the
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...
in the war.


August offensive

The repeated failure of the Allies to capture Krithia or make any progress on the Helles front led Hamilton to pursue an imaginative new plan for the campaign. On the night of 6 August a fresh landing of two infantry divisions was to be made at Suvla, north of Anzac. Meanwhile, at Anzac a strong assault would be made on the Sari Bair range by breaking out through thinly defended sector at the north of the Anzac perimeter. The offensive was preceded on the evening of 6 August by diversionary assaults at Helles and Anzac. At Helles, the diversion at Krithia Vineyard became another futile battle with no gains and heavy casualties for both sides. At Anzac, an attack on the Turkish trenches at Lone Pine by the infantry brigades of the Australian 1st Division was a rare victory for the ANZACs. At a cost of over 2,000 men, the Australians inflicted 7,000 casualties on the Turks. Because it was an effective attack on a vital position, it was the most effective diversionary attack carried out by the Australians of the war, drawing in the Turkish reserves. However, the main assault aimed at the peaks of
Chunuk Bair The Battle of Chunuk Bair ( tr, Conk Bayırı Muharebesi) was a World War I battle fought between the Ottoman defenders and troops of the British Empire over control of the peak in August 1915. The capture of Chunuk Bair, ( tr, Çanak Bayır Ba ...
and Hill 971 was less successful. The force striking for the nearer peak of Chunuk Bair comprised the New Zealand Infantry Brigade. It came within of the peak by dawn on 7 August but was not able to seize the summit until the following morning. This delay had fatal consequences for another supporting attack on the morning of 7 August, that of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade at the Nek which was to coincide with the New Zealanders attacking back down from Chunuk Bair against the rear of the Turkish defences. The New Zealanders held out on Chunuk Bair for two days before relief was provided by two
New Army The New Armies ( Traditional Chinese: 新軍, Simplified Chinese: 新军; Pinyin: Xīnjūn, Manchu: ''Ice cooha''), more fully called the Newly Created Army ( ''Xinjian Lujun''Also translated as "Newly Established Army" ()), was the modernised ...
battalions from the
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
and Loyal North Lancashire Regiments. A massive Turkish
counter-attack A counterattack is a tactic employed in response to an attack, with the term originating in "war games". The general objective is to negate or thwart the advantage gained by the enemy during attack, while the specific objectives typically seek ...
, led in person by Mustafa Kemal, swept these two battalions from the heights. Meanwhile, the landing at Suvla Bay was only lightly opposed but the British commander, Lieutenant General Sir Frederick Stopford, had so diluted his early objectives that little more than the beach was seized. Again the Turks were able to win the race for the high ground of the Anafarta Hills thereby rendering the Suvla front another case of static
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...
. The Suvla landing was reinforced by the arrival of the British 53rd and 54th Divisions along with the British 10th Division from Kitchener's New Army divisions plus the dismounted
yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles. History Origins In the 1790s, f ...
of the
2nd Mounted Division The 2nd Mounted Division was a yeomanry ( Territorial Army cavalry) division that served in the First World War. At the outbreak of war it was assigned to defence of the Norfolk coast. In March 1915 it formed a 2nd Line duplicate of itself, ...
. The unfortunate 29th Division was also shifted from Helles to Suvla for one more push. The final British attempt to resuscitate the offensive came on 21 August with attacks at
Scimitar Hill A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...
and Hill 60. Control of these hills would have united the Anzac and Suvla fronts, but neither battle was successful. When fighting at Hill 60 ceased on 29 August, the battle for the Sari Bair heights, and indeed the battle for the peninsula, was effectively over.


Evacuation

After eight months of bloody fighting it was decided to evacuate the entire force on the Gallipoli peninsula. Troop numbers were progressively reduced from 7 December and cunning ruses were performed to fool the Turks and to prevent them from discovering the Allies that were departing. At Anzac, the troops would maintain utter silence for an hour or more until the curious Turks would venture out to inspect the trenches, whereupon the Anzacs would open fire. As the numbers in the trenches were thinned, rifles were rigged to fire by water dripped into a pan attached to the trigger. In what was ironically the best planned operation of the campaign, the evacuation was completed by dawn on 20 December 1915, without a single casualty. Ultimately the Gallipoli campaign was a disastrous failure. It did not achieve any of the objectives that had been given as a justification for it, and due to the inexperience of high commanders and mismanagement there were an unacceptably high number of casualties amongst the participating troops, not only from as a result of combat, but also due to widespread disease that resulted from poor sanitation and hygiene in the front lines and a breakdown in the casualty clearance and resupply and logistics systems. It has been estimated that over the course of the campaign there were 26,111 Australian casualties with 8,141 killed. Other Allied casualties—killed and wounded—included: 7,571 New Zealanders, 120,000 British and 27,000 French. After the war, the bad conditions and high casualties among the Anzac troops resulted in a reasonably prevalent view in Australia that these had been due to the incompetence of British officers commanding the Australian troops and their disregard for the casualties that resulted from poorly planned or ill-conceived attacks. Whether these claims are valid or not, there can be little doubt that the entire campaign was poorly conducted, and as a result there were many military lessons learnt that were to be applied in later campaigns. Despite this, for Australians and New Zealanders the Gallipoli campaign has come to symbolise an important milestone in the emergence of both nations as independent actors on the world stage and the development of a sense of national identity. Today, the date of the initial landings, 25 April, is a public holiday known as
Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Ne ...
in Australia and New Zealand and every year thousands of people gather at memorials in both nations, and indeed in Turkey, to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the original Anzacs, and of all those who have subsequently lost their lives in war.


Egypt and Palestine


Reorganisation in Egypt

After the Gallipoli campaign, Australian troops returned to Egypt and the AIF underwent a major expansion, which involved the raising of another three infantry divisions—the
3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...
, 4th and
5th Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash tha ...
—and the establishment of the Anzac Mounted Division. In March 1916, the infantry began to move to France while the cavalry units stayed in the area and fought Turkish troops and the Senussi Arab tribes that were threatening British control of Egypt. Mounted troops were particularly important in the defence of Egypt and Australian troops of the Anzac Mounted Division saw action in all the major battles of the campaign, first seeing combat in the
Battle of Romani The Battle of Romani was the last ground attack of the Central Powers on the Suez Canal at the beginning of the Sinai and Palestine campaign during the First World War. The battle was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916 near the Egyptian town ...
. Apart from the horsemen, the mounted troops included the 1st
Imperial Camel Corps The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade (ICCB) was a camel-mounted infantry brigade that the British Empire raised in December 1916 during the First World War for service in the Middle East. From a small beginning the unit eventually grew to a bri ...
Brigade. This was organised as a mounted infantry brigade. Of its four battalions, the 1st and 3rd were composed of Australians, the 2nd was British, and the 4th was half Australian and half New Zealand. The cameliers participated in most of the fighting in Egypt and Palestine until the brigade was disbanded in July 1918. The Australian and New Zealand components then traded their camels for horses and became the 5th Light Horse Brigade.


Fighting the Senussi Arabs

In response to the growing threat from a pro-Turkish Islamic Arab sect known as the
Senussi The Senusiyya, Senussi or Sanusi ( ar, السنوسية ''as-Sanūssiyya'') are a Muslim political-religious tariqa (Sufi order) and clan in colonial Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi ( ar, السنوسي ...
, a composite British force—the "Western Frontier Force"—under the command of the
British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which cou ...
officer Major General Alexander Wallace, was sent into the
Libyan Desert The Libyan Desert (not to be confused with the Libyan Sahara) is a geographical region filling the north-eastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan. On medieval maps, its use predates ...
to
Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh ( ar, مرسى مطروح, translit=Marsā Maṭrūḥ, ), also transliterated as ''Marsa Matruh'', is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway ...
in late-November 1915. This force included a composite regiment of Australian light horse and the horse transport of the 1st Division. A series of sharp battles against the Arabs ensued at Um Rakhum, Gebel Medwa and Halazin during December and January. British casualties were comparatively light, although many were killed or wounded, including Australians. Arab losses were much higher however, with hundreds killed during the fighting. Meanwhile, a number of the Australian Light Horse units returning from Gallipoli were sent further south to guard the edge of the Nile Valley against the Senussi. The 1st Armoured Car Section was also involved in guarding the Western Desert until it was sent to Palestine as the 1st Light Car Patrol at the end of 1916.


Battle of Romani

The Battle of Romani took place near the Egyptian town of Romani, east of the Suez Canal, on 3–5 August 1916. The goal of the Turkish and German army was to control or destroy the Suez Canal, thereby denying the use of the waterway to the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and in doing so aiding the Central Powers. Both the Anzac Mounted Division, under Major General Harry Chauvel, and the
52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division The 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division was an infantry division of the British Army that was originally formed as the Lowland Division, in 1908 as part of the Territorial Force. It later became the 52nd (Lowland) Division in 1915. The 52nd (Lowl ...
saw action against the German and Turkish force. Since first making contact with the advancing German and Turkish force on 20 July they had been harassed alternately by the Australian 1st and 2nd Light Horse Brigades. During the night of 3–4 August, the day before the battle commenced, both brigades were involved in fighting. By about midday on 4 August, the Turkish and German force had pushed the two Australian brigades back to a point where the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division, in their trenches, were able to attack the Turkish right flank, and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and British
5th Mounted Brigade The 1st South Midland Mounted Brigade (later numbered as the 5th Mounted Brigade) was a yeomanry brigade of the British Army, formed as part of the Territorial Force in 1908. It served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign before being remo ...
arrived from their deployment protecting the Suez Canal, to extend the Australians' line on the left flank. The Turkish and German advance was stopped by the fire brought to bear on them by the combined British infantry and Australian, British and New Zealand mounted forces and by the deep sand, the midday summer heat, and thirst. In these extremely tough conditions, the British infantry were unable to move effectively against the retreating German and Turkish force in the following days. Alone, the Anzac Mounted Division was unable to stop the retreating force withdrawing to Katia and eventually back to their base at Bir el Abd. This base was abandoned the day after it was attacked by the Anzac Mounted Division, on 12 August 1916, ending any threat to the Suez Canal for the remainder of the war. The battle cost the Allies 1,202 casualties of which 222 were killed, 71 died of wounds and 909 were wounded; half of these were Australians.


Battle of Magdhaba

Following the victory at Romani the Anzac Mounted Division pushed the German and
Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces ( tr, Türk Kara Kuvvetleri), or Turkish Army (Turkish: ), is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the ...
back across the Sinai Peninsula. The German and Turkish forces had been put on the defensive and retreated from Bir el Abd on 12 August 1916 towards the Egyptian–Turkish frontier, the day after being attacked by the Anzac Mounted Division. A Turkish rearguard action was fought at Bir el Mazar before the German and Turkish force retired to
El Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Medit ...
in September. In the Maghara Hills in October 1916 a strongly defended position was attacked by an Allied force based on the Suez Canal. Both Bir el Mazar and Maghara Hills positions were subsequently abandoned. During November, an aerial bombing raid by 5 B.E.s and a Martinsyde, the largest air attack yet organised in the East was carried out on
Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
. By the beginning of December the railway had reached Bir el Mazar and with the development of lines of communications, garrisons, support and services, it became possible to plan for an advance to El Arish. On 21 December, after a night march of the Anzac Mounted Division, commanded by Chauvel, entered El Arish, which had been abandoned by the German and Turkish force who had retreated to Madghaba where the mounted force won a fierce daylong engagement against strong well constructed defences manned by determined defenders. Situated on the British right flank, the Egyptian outpost of Magdhaba was some to the south-south-east into the Sinai desert, from El Arish on the Mediterranean coast. With Turkish forces on the defensive, Madghaba, along with another position at Rafa, were the last main obstacles standing in the way of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's advance into Palestine. Chauvel, with the agreement of Lieutenant General Philip Chetwode commanding the Desert Column who had arrived earlier that day, set out to attack the Turkish forces at Magdhaba with the Anzac Mounted Division. Leaving at about midnight on 22 December, the Anzac Mounted Division was in a position by 03.50 am on 23 December to see enemy fires still some miles away at Magdhaba. With the 1st Light Horse Brigade in reserve, Chauvel sent the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to move on Magdhaba by the north and north-east to cut off the possibility of retreat while the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade followed the telegraph line straight to Magdhaba. The 1st Light Horse Brigade advanced mounted to the attack but fierce shrapnel fire forced them to advance up the wadi bed. By midday all three brigades and the Camel Brigade, despite support from machine-guns and artillery, were hotly engaged. Aerial reconnaissance from Australian and British aircraft, which scouted out the Turkish positions, greatly assisted the attack, although the Turkish positions were obscured by the effect of a mirage and dust clouds. When the fighting began the going was tough and by 1.00 pm, after hearing that the Turkish defenders still had possession of most of the water in the area, Chauvel decided to call off the attack. However, the message reached the commander of the 1st Light Horse Brigade just as the Australians were preparing to assault the main redoubt, and the message was deliberately misplaced until the attack had commenced. Both the 1st Light Horse and the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigades made progress capturing about 100 prisoners and by 3.30 pm the Turkish defenders began to surrender. By 4.30 pm, the entire Turkish garrison had surrendered, having suffered heavy casualties, and the town was captured. The victory cost the Australians 22 dead and 121 wounded.


Battle of Rafa

Two and a half weeks later, on the evening of 8 January 1917 the mounted units of the Desert Column commanded by Chetwode rode out of El Arish towards Rafa where a 2,000-strong Turkish garrison was based. The attacking force comprised the Australian 1st Light Horse Brigade, 3rd Light Horse Brigade and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade of the Anzac Mounted Division under the command of Chauvel, the 5th Mounted Brigade and three battalions of the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade. After a long night march, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force attacked the strongly entrenched position at El Magruntein. A fierce day-long battle resulted in the mounted troops (fighting dismounted) capturing the town around nightfall with the loss of 71 killed and 415 wounded. The Turkish garrison suffered heavily, with 200 killed and another 1,600 taken prisoner.


Fighting around Gaza, 1917

In early 1917, the Imperial Mounted Division was formed from the 3rd and
4th Light Horse Brigade The 4th Light Horse Brigade was a mounted infantry brigade of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) serving in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The brigade was initially formed as a part-time militia formation in the early 1900s in Vict ...
s and two British mounted brigades. The division first saw service during the
First Battle of Gaza The First Battle of Gaza was fought on 26 March 1917 during the first attempt by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF), which was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from th ...
, which occurred in southern Gaza on 26 March 1917. At around noon two mounted brigades of the Anzac Mounted Division attacked Gaza from the north and east. At 6.00 pm the Turkish position had become perilous with the ring closing tightly around Gaza. However, in a decision that dismayed most of their soldiers the British commanders decided to call off the attack and retreat, delivering victory to the Turks. A second attempt was made to capture Gaza on 19 April by which time the Turkish defences were even more formidable and the task confronting the British even more difficult. This battle became known as the
Second Battle of Gaza The Second Battle of Gaza was fought on 17-19 April 1917, following the defeat of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) at the First Battle of Gaza in March, during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War. Gaza was defended by ...
. The Anzac Mounted Division played only a minor role in this battle suffering only 105 casualties out of the 5,917 suffered. The second battle of Gaza was a disastrous defeat for the Allied forces. In June 1917, the Imperial Mounted Division was renamed as the Australian Mounted Division. In August 1917 Chauvel was placed in command of the
Desert Mounted Corps The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army during the First World War, of three mounted divisions renamed in August 1917 by General Edmund Allenby, from Desert Column. These divisions which served in the Sinai and Pales ...
, which included the two Australian mounted divisions, as well as the British Yeomanry Division and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigade. Chauvel became the first Australian to command a corps, as well as the first to achieve the rank of lieutenant general. With the failure of the Second Battle of Gaza a third assault was launched on Gaza between 31 October and 7 November 1917. Units from the Anzac Mounted Division and the Australian Mounted Division took part in the battle. The battle was a complete success for the Allies. The Gaza–Beersheba line was completely overrun and 12,000 Turkish soldiers were captured or surrendered. The critical moment of the battle was the capture of the town of
Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
on the first day by Australian light horsemen. The Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade, under Brigadier General William Grant, charged more than at the Turkish trenches, overran them and captured the wells at Beersheba. In the capture of Beersheba, the Australians lost 31 men killed. A further 32 were wounded, while 80 horses were lost. On the Turkish side, more than 500 men were killed and 1,500 captured as well as nine artillery pieces and a number of machine guns and other pieces of equipment.


Fighting advance

From 1 to 7 November, strong Turkish rearguards at Tel el Khuweilfe in the southern
Judean Hills The Judaean Mountains, or Judaean Hills ( he, הרי יהודה, translit=Harei Yehuda) or the Hebron Mountains ( ar, تلال الخليل, translit=Tilal al-Khalīl, links=, lit=Hebron Mountains), is a mountain range in Palestine and Israel w ...
, at Hareira and Sheria on the maritime plain and at Sausage Ridge and Gaza close to the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...
coast, held the
Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning o ...
in heavy fighting. During this time the Turkish Army was able to withdraw in good order. The rearguard garrisons themselves were also able to retire under cover of darkness, during the night of 6/7 or 7/8 November. On 7 and 8 November, the surviving units of the 7th and 8th Turkish armies further delayed the advance of Desert Mounted Corps commanded by Chauvel and the XXI Corps's 52nd (Lowland) Division and the 75th Yeomanry Division. All other units of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had come to the end of their lines of communication. These units were the XXI Corps' 54th (East Anglian) Division resting at Gaza and the
Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade The 15th (Imperial Service) Cavalry Brigade was a brigade-sized formation that served alongside British Empire forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign, during World War I. Originally called the Imperial Service Cavalry Brigade it was form ...
at Beit Hanun. Also in the rear was the whole of Chetwode's XX Corps which had transferred its transport to XXI Corps. Its 53rd (Welsh) Division and corps cavalry, together with the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade, were deployed in the front line near Tel el Khuweilfe, in the Judean Hills north of Beersheba. While its 60th (London) Infantry Division was resting at Huj, its 10th (Irish) Division and 74th Infantry Division were both resting back at Karm. The Desert Mounted Corps and the two infantry divisions of XX Corps became involved in a series of engagements during the days leading up to the battle and on the day after. These began on 10 November when one brigade of the 52nd (Lowland) Division and two brigades of the Anzac Mounted Division commanded by Major General Edward Chaytor successfully pushed across the Nahr Sukereir to establish a bridgehead on the Turkish right flank. Three brigades of the Australian Mounted Division under the command of Major General
Henry West Hodgson Major-General Sir Henry West Hodgson (29 June 1868 – 5 February 1930) was an officer of the British Army. He was born 29 June 1868 and died 5 February 1930 and buried at the St Mary Magdalene Church Bolney England. He was the Regimental Col ...
ran into the Turkish rearguard's left flank around the village of
Summeil Summil ( ar, صميل) is a village in the Gaza Sub-district of Mandatory Palestine, located northeast of Gaza City, Gaza. It is situated on a sandy hill on the coastal plain and in 1945 it had 950 inhabitants. became established during the 194 ...
. The mounted troops occupied the village on 11 November but were unable to advance further due to intense Turkish artillery fire which continued throughout the day. On 12 November Allenby made preparations for battle the following day. He ordered an attack by the 52nd (Lowland) Division to extend their position across the Nahr Sukereir on the Turkish Army's right flank. Reinforced with two additional brigades, he ordered the Australian Mounted Division to advance towards Tel es Safi where they encountered a determined and substantial Turkish counterattack. This counterattack forced the mounted division to concede the territory gained during the day, before fighting the Turkish Army to a standstill in front of Summeil. On the morning after the battle at Mughar Ridge, Junction Station was occupied and during the following days other villages in the area were found to have been abandoned. Later in the morning of 14 November New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade ran into a determined and well entrenched Turkish rearguard near Ayun Kara, which they attacked. Fierce close quarter fighting against the Turkish 3rd Infantry Division continued during the afternoon. Although severely threatened, the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade eventually prevailed and went on to occupy Jaffa two days later. The Battle of Mughar Ridge was fought on 13 November by the 52nd (Lowland) Division and the 75th Division in the centre, with the Australian Mounted Division on their right flank and the Anzac Mounted Division and
Yeomanry Mounted Division The Yeomanry Mounted Division was a Territorial Force cavalry division formed at Khan Yunis in Palestine in June 1917 from three yeomanry mounted brigades. It served in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of the First World War, mostly as part of ...
s on the infantry's left flank. The battle was divided into two stages with a pause for artillery to be brought forward. Following the Yeomanry's successful charge up onto El Mughar ridge, two crucial fortified villages were captured by elements of the 52nd (Lowland) Division. This victory resulted in the subsequent occupation of Junction Station, a vital railway station on the Turk's lines of communication between
Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
and Jerusalem.


Jerusalem

The Australian mounted troops took part the Capture of Jerusalem in late 1917. These operations included two battles fought in the Judean Hills; the Battle of Nebi Samwil from 17 to 24 November and the Defence of Jerusalem from 26 to 30 December and another fought on the maritime plain; the subsidiary Battle of Jaffa on 21–22 December 1917. This series of battles involved the British Empire's XX Corps, XXI Corps and the Desert Mounted Corps fighting the Turkish 7th Army in the Judean Hills and the 8th Army north of Jaffa on the Mediterranean coast. After the failure of widespread and determined Turkish counterattacks fought from 27 November to 1 December by the 7th Turkish Army they evacuated Jerusalem. Troops from the Australian Mounted Division were the first mounted troops to enter Jerusalem in December 1917. Towards the end of December the British Empire forces at the Battle of Jaffa and the Defence of Jerusalem succeeded in pushing the Turkish armies north. A strong British defensive line was established which remained in place until mid September 1918. The line stretched across from well north of the Nahr el Auja on the Mediterranean coast in the west to north and east of Jerusalem. It was extended during the middle of February 1918 when Jericho in the Jordan Valley was captured and the eastern end of the line was secured on the Dead Sea.


Transjordan operations

In March and April 1918, Australian and New Zealand mounted troops and British infantry took part in two raids east across the Jordan River to Amman and Es Salt, a village in Palestine west of
Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...
. Although these raids were unsuccessful, they encouraged Turkish commanders to believe that the main British effort would be launched across the Jordan when it would be launched along the coastal plain. Before these operations could commence it was necessary to capture the country east of Jerusalem and into the Jordan Valley to
Jericho Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho ...
. The attack on the Turkish 26th and 53rd Infantry Divisions was made by the 60th (London) and the Anzac Mounted Divisions on 19 February. Talat ed Dumm, on the road from Jerusalem, was captured the next day and in the evening the Wady Fara and Nebi Musa were also captured. On 21 February Jericho was occupied by the two divisions of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.


Final offensive

During the final offensive in September 1918, the two divisions of Australian mounted troops, as well as the 1st Light Car Patrol and No. 1 Squadron AFC, took part in Battle of Megiddo on 28 September 1918, a decisive British victory in which 70,000 Turkish soldiers were taken prisoner. The Desert Mounted Corps attacked across the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
, cutting off the north and north-west exits to Damascus on 29 September. On 30 September, the head of a column of 20,000 Turkish and German troops was annihilated by the Australian light horsemen as it attempted to withdraw west through the Barada Gorge. Australian troops were the first to enter Damascus, which fell on 1 October. Following an advance of ,
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
was captured on 25 October. The Turkish government signed an armistice on 28 October 1918 and surrendered outright two days later. Following the armistice, the Australian Mounted Division went into camp at Tripoli while the Anzac Mounted Division, having borne the brunt of the entire campaign, suffered heavily from malaria and influenza in the Jordan Valley. Australia's role in the Sinai and Palestine campaign was later acknowledged by Field Marshal
Edmund Allenby Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was a senior British Army officer and Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led th ...
, who had been commander-in-chief of the Allied forces in the Middle East, as having been considerable. Total Australian battle casualties in the campaign were 4,851, including 1,374 dead.


Western Front


Transfer to Europe

In March 1916, the infantry units of the AIF were transferred from Egypt to Europe for service on the Western Front. Initially they were organised into I Anzac Corps and II Anzac Corps alongside the New Zealand Division. The 2nd Division was the first to arrive in France, followed by the 1st Division, while the 4th and 5th left Egypt later in June 1916. The 3rd Division was the last to arrive, having been formed in Australia in March 1916, and moving to England for training in July 1916, before being sent to France in December 1916. For the next two and a half years the constant rotations in and out of the line were punctuated by a number of major battles, during which the Australians earned for themselves a formidable reputation. On 1 November 1917 the Australian divisions were re-grouped together to form the Australian Corps. When the 1st Division arrived, it was reunited with its mechanical transport. In September 1914, the Army had decided to supply mechanical transport for the 1st Division and formed a company in New South Wales and one in Victoria. These were the first ever mechanical transport units in the Australian Army. Nearly 200 vehicles were purchased and the two units departed Melbourne for Egypt on 22 December 1914. Unfortunately, vehicles over were prohibited in Cairo as most bridges could not hold their weight, whereas they possessed vehicles weighing up to . It was therefore arranged for them to continue to England where they arrived on 15 February 1915. There they lived in tents on
Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...
and hauled gravel for roads before being sent to France in July 1915. They were not the first Australians to serve on the Western Front. An Australian Voluntary Hospital had been formed in England in August 1914 from Australian expatriates. All medical practitioners in the unit were Australians and although women were not allowed to serve as doctors, Australian nurses were accepted. The unit left for France in August 1914 and from October was based at Wimereux, where the 2nd General Hospital joined it in June 1916. In July 1916, the Australian Voluntary Hospital was absorbed into the British Army. Another group of Australians had also arrived in France before I Anzac Corps. In June 1915, the 1st Siege Artillery Brigade was formed under the command of Lieutenant Colonel
Walter Adams Coxen Major General Walter Adams Coxen (22 June 1870 – 15 December 1949) was a senior Australian Army officer in the First World War. In April 1930 Coxen was promoted to the position of Chief of the General Staff. He retired in 1931. Early life a ...
, the Australian Army's Director of Artillery, for service on the Western Front. About half the men in the unit were permanent gunners of the Garrison Artillery. The brigade departed Melbourne for England on 17 July 1915 and landed in France on 27 February 1916. Its 54th Siege Battery was equipped with 8-inch howitzers and its 55th Siege Battery with 9.2-inch howitzers. With the move of the majority of the AIF to France, the base organisation was transferred to the United Kingdom. Most of the training units moved to the Salisbury Plain, establishing depots at Perham Down, Rollestone, Larkhill and
Tidworth Tidworth is a garrison, garrison town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in south-east Wiltshire, England, on the eastern edge of Salisbury Plain. Lying on both sides of the A338 road, A338 about north of the A303 road, A303 primary ro ...
. When it arrived, the 3rd Division also moved into camps in this area. Command Depots, where men returning from hospitals were sent before being returned to their units, were established at Perham Down, Weymouth, Wool, Dorset and Worgret. Depots for men moving from the United Kingdom to France were established at Étaples. In June 1917, these were swapped with the Canadians for depots around
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, thereby reducing travelling time from the Salisbury Plain. AIF Headquarters was established at
Horseferry Road Horseferry Road is a street in the City of Westminster in central London running between Millbank and Greycoat Place. It is perhaps best known as the site of City of Westminster Magistrates' Court (which until 2006 was called Horseferry Road ...
in London and Colonel R. M. McC. Anderson, a businessman, was appointed as its commandant. Anderson negotiated a new method of payment for services provided by the British Army as a per capita per diem payment.


Battle of the Somme, 1916

On 7 April 1916, I Anzac Corps took up positions in a quiet sector south of
Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...
, known as the "Nursery". The Australians were spared from participating in the disastrous first day on the
Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...
, nevertheless within three weeks of the beginning of the Allied offensive, four divisions of the AIF had been committed to the battle. Only the 3rd Division did not take part, having only just recently arrived in England from Australia. The 5th Division, positioned on the left flank of the salient, was the first to see action during the
Battle of Fromelles The Attack at Fromelles (, Battle of Fromelles, Battle of Fleurbaix or ) 19–20 July 1916, was a military operation on the Western Front during the First World War. The attack was carried out by British and Australian troops and was subsidiary ...
on 19 July 1916, suffering a staggering 5,533 casualties in a single day. The 1st Division entered the line on 23 July 1916, taking part in the assault on
Pozières Pozières (; ) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography The commune is situated on the D929 road, northeast of Amiens between Albert and Bapaume, on the Pozières ridge. Southwest of the village ...
. Initially they succeeded in carrying the German positions with relatively small losses, however, once the Germans had recovered they directed an intense artillery barrage upon the town which resulted in heavy losses. By the time that they were relieved by the 2nd Division on 27 July, they had suffered 5,286 casualties. Two days after taking over the line, the 2nd Division was thrown into a hastily planned attack that resulted in further casualties when the Germans spotted the Australians forming up and once again subjected them to the weight of their artillery and machine guns. Another attack was launched on 4 August which, although it met with success, resulted again in such heavy casualties—almost 7,000—that the division was relieved the next day. Following the attack on Pozières the Australians were called upon to attack Mouquet Farm in August. All three divisions of I Anzac Corps were committed in an effort to force a breach in the German lines behind
Thiepval Thiepval (; pcd, Tièbvo) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Thiepval is located north of Albert at the crossroads of the D73 and D151 and approximately northeast of Amiens. Population First Wo ...
, to the north of Pozières. The task of the initial advance fell to the 4th Division on 10 August, which had already suffered 1,000 casualties resisting the final German counter-attack, but in the ensuing battle it would lose a further three times that number as the Australians once again suffered at the hands of the German artillery, finding themselves squeezed into a frontage of less than against which the Germans were able to concentrate the weight of their defence. Three more attacks were made over the course of the next three weeks as the Australians fought their way across the shell-pocked countryside to the farm, only to be forced out again shortly after by the concentration of German artillery. The other two divisions of I Anzac fared only slightly better in these attacks and at the end of the engagement, Australian casualties at Mouquet Farm totalled 6,300 men. As that battle on the Somme dragged on, the
Canadian Corps The Canadian Corps was a World War I corps formed from the Canadian Expeditionary Force in September 1915 after the arrival of the 2nd Canadian Division in France. The corps was expanded by the addition of the 3rd Canadian Division in December ...
was brought up and the AIF was withdrawn from the line to re-organise and reform, having suffered almost 23,000 casualties over the course of the 45 days that they had been involved. The 5th Division had been so badly mauled, having been incapacitated by the losses they had suffered at Fromelles, that it was not until October that the 5th Division finally returned to the line and joined the 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions on the Somme near Flers.


Battle of Bullecourt

In March 1917 two 'flying columns' from the 2nd and 5th Divisions pursued the German back to the Hindenburg Line, capturing the town of Bapaume. On 11 April, the 4th Division, consisting of the 4th and 12th Brigades, assaulted the Hindenburg Line in the First Battle of Bullecourt. The battle was a disaster, with over 3,000 casualties and 1,170 taken prisoner by the Germans. On 15 April the 1st and 2nd Divisions were struck by a German counterattack at dawn near the town of Lagnicourt, by a force of up to 23 battalions as the Germans attempted to take advantage of the weakness that had developed in the Allied line following the British offensive at
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of ...
. The Australians were initially forced to abandon the town to the Germans and in the process several artillery batteries were lost, however, at 7:00 am a successful counterattack was launched by four Australian battalions, resulting in the town being recaptured and the guns reclaimed. Later, on 3 May two brigades of the 2nd Division—the 5th and the 6th—took part in the Second Battle of Bullecourt, where they succeeded in taking sections of the Hindenburg Line and eventually managed to hold most these gains until they were relieved by the 1st Division. On 7 May the 5th Division was committed to relieve the 1st, remaining in the line until the battle ended in mid May. While the battle resulted in a victory for the Allies, the effort cost the AIF some 7,482 casualties and ultimately ended plans to expand the AIF to a sixth division.


Battle of Messines

On 7 June 1917, along with two British corps, the II Anzac Corps, consisting of the Australian 3rd Division, the British 25th Division and the New Zealand Division, with the Australian 4th Division attached, launched an operation in the Flanders region of southern Belgium, near Messines The objective was to eliminate a salient that had developed in the line south of Ypres, enclosing the Wytschaete–Messines ridge and thus providing the Germans with good observation and fields of fire that could threaten the major offensive that the British planned to launch around Ypres later in the year. The attack commenced with the detonation of of explosives that had been placed underneath the Messines ridge in 19 separate tunnels, completely destroying the German trenches. Following the explosions, the Allied advance was virtually unopposed as the Germans were too stunned and demoralised to put up much resistance. However, not everything went the Australians' way. The 3rd Division, under Major General John Monash, suffered heavy casualties when they were shelled by
phosgene gas Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, esp ...
and shrapnel shells while moving towards the line of departure, nevertheless the division still managed to get into position for the start of the attack. Strong German counterattacks were launched the next day, once again supported by concentrated artillery fire; however, the advance was able to continue on through the mess of concrete blockhouses the Germans had erected and continued on until all the objectives had been taken. Australian casualties amounted to nearly 6,800 men. On 2 July 1917, Major General Holmes was mortally wounded by a German shellburst while surveying the Messines battlefield with the
Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatur ...
,
William Holman William Arthur Holman (4 August 1871 – 5 June 1934) was an Australian politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1913 to 1920. He came to office as the leader of the Labor Party, but was expelled from the party in the split o ...
.


Third Battle of Ypres

Between September and November 1917, I Anzac Corps took part in a number of actions around Ypres in Belgium as the Allies launched a campaign in order to capture the Gheluvelt Plateau in Belgium. Collectively these actions have come to be known as the
Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by ...
, of which they were a part, although to Australians they are more commonly known by the names of the places where the individual actions took place—Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle and Passchendaele. I Anzac Corps was committed six weeks after the start of the battle and on 16 September, having marched through Ypres the night before, the 1st and 2nd Divisions took up a position in the trenches on the main ridge at Glencorse Wood. The first attack came on 20 September at Menin Road, where the Australians experienced success making considerable gains against the enemy for the loss of about 5,000 casualties. On 26 September, the 4th and 5th Divisions attacked and captured Polygon Wood, while later on 4 October, another successful attack was made on the main ridge at Broodseinde, where the four Australian divisions involved fought side by side, as they clashed head on with a German counterattack that had been launched at the same time the Australians had risen to carry out their assault. The result was a rout by the Australians, as the German line broke and following further attacks against German pillboxes, the ridge was captured. The first two attacks had been successful and as Allied commanders began to believe that a breakthrough was possible further attacks were made at Poelcappelle on 9 October and at Passchendaele on 12 October despite heavy rain that turned the ground into a muddy quagmire. Both attacks were ultimately doomed to failure, with heavy casualties, as the attacks foundered in the mud and as the battle petered out, it was decided that it was time for the Australians to be withdrawn from the line. This was completed by 14 November 1917. Over the course of the eight weeks they had been involved in the fighting around Ypres, they had suffered 38,000 casualties.


German Spring Offensive, 1918

On 21 March 1918, having been buoyed by the capitulation of Bolshevik Russia, the German Army launched their Spring Offensive against the Allies with a staggering 63 divisions over a front of . As the Allies began to fall back against the tremendous weight of this offensive, on 25 March the Australian 3rd and 4th Divisions were rushed south to Amiens from where they had been holding the line at Messines. The German offensive lasted with varying intensity for the next five months and during this time, all five divisions of the AIF in France were involved in the fighting as they attempted to stem the tide of the German advance, which achieved large territorial gains and at one stage looked like it might ultimately secure a remarkable victory for the Germans as they pushed to within from Paris late in May. During this time, the Australians were involved in a number of actions at Dernancourt, Morlancourt,
Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux border ...
, Hangard Wood, Hazebrouck, and Hamel. Of these actions, the last one, at Hamel on 4 July 1918, is perhaps the most notable. Even though the action was relatively minor in terms of the scale of previous operations mounted on the Western Front, it is notable because it was the first 'set-piece' operation planned and carried out by the newly appointed commander of the Australian Corps, Lieutenant General John Monash and it has since been used as the model of a successful combined arms attack. Using aircraft, artillery and armour in effective combination with infantry, the attack was over in the space of 93 minutes; although Monash had planned for a 90-minute operation. It achieved its objectives of straightening the Allied line and taking the town of Hamel. The Australians had advanced the line almost across a front of and in the process taken roughly 1,600 German prisoners as well as over 200 machine guns, trench mortars and anti-tank weapons. Against this the Australians suffered 1,062 casualties.


Hundred Days Offensive

The last-ditched effort by the Germans to win the war came to a grinding halt in mid-July and after that there followed a brief period of lull, during which time the Australians undertook a series of small unit actions aimed at capturing parts of the German line with limited support. These actions became known as Peaceful Penetrations and were essentially a cross between trench raids and patrolling. Their success relied heavily upon the leadership and initiative of junior commanders and the ability of soldiers to employ principles of fire and manoeuvre. This lull did not last long, however, as the Allies were soon ready to launch their own offensive, known as the
Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...
, which would ultimately bring about an end to the war. The offensive began on 8 August 1918 when 20 Allied divisions, including four Australian, struck at Amiens on the Somme. Using the combined arms techniques developed earlier at Hamel, the Allies achieved territorial gains that had been unheard of since the start of the war. In the Australian sector, the 4th and 5th Divisions had initially spearheaded the advance, before the 2nd and 3rd Divisions had advanced another three kilometres to secure the secondary objectives. The attack had been so successful that it was later described by German General
Erich Ludendorff Erich Friedrich Wilhelm Ludendorff (9 April 1865 – 20 December 1937) was a German general, politician and military theorist. He achieved fame during World War I for his central role in the German victories at Liège and Tannenberg in 1914. ...
as a "black day" for the German Army. Following that the Allied offensive continued for the next four months, right up until the end of the war. During the
Second Battle of the Somme The Second Battle of the Somme of 1918 was fought during the First World War on the Western Front from late August to early September, in the basin of the River Somme. It was part of a series of successful counter-offensives in response to th ...
the Australian Corps fought actions at Lihons, Etinehem, Proyart, Chuignes, and
Mont St Quentin Mont Saint-Quentin overlooks the Somme River in the region of Picardie approximately 1.5 km north of the town of Péronne, Somme, France. The hill is about 100 metres high but as it is situated in a bend of the river it dominates the whole ...
, before taking part in their final engagement of the war on 5 October 1918 at Montbrehain. Australian casualties during these battles were very high and coupled with the drying up of reinforcements from Australia, the rejection of the proposal to introduce conscription and the granting of home leave to men who been serving since 1914 meant that by the end of the war the AIF was stretched to the limit. Consequently, during the height of the offensive it was decided to disband three battalions—the 36th, 47th and 52nd—in order to reinforce other units. The engagement at Montbrehain was the Australian Corps' last contribution to the war and they were out of the line training when the
Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...
was declared on 11 November 1918. Total Australian casualties on the Western Front numbered 181,000, including 46,000 of whom died. Another 114,000 men were wounded, 16,000 gassed, and approximately 3,850 were taken prisoners of war.


Other theatres

When the war ended, there were 92,000 Australian soldiers in France, 60,000 in England and 17,000 in Egypt, Palestine and Syria. Small numbers were serving in other theatres. Australian troops from the
1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron The 1st Australian Wireless Signal Squadron was a unit of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) which served in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during World War I. Formed in late 1915, it took part in the Mesopotamian Campaign from 1916 to 1918, pr ...
provided communications for British forces during the
Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...
. They participated in a number of battles, including the Battle of Baghdad in March 1917 and the Battle of Ramadi in September that year. Meanwhile, following the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
in 1917, the Caucasus Front collapsed, leaving Central Asia open to the Turkish Army. A special force, known as Dunsterforce after its commander,
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Lionel Dunsterville Major General Lionel Charles Dunsterville, (9 November 1865 – 18 March 1946) was a British Army officer, who led Dunsterforce across present-day Iraq and Iran towards the Caucasus and Baku during the First World War. Early life Lionel Ch ...
, was formed from hand-picked British officers and NCOs to organise any remaining Russian forces or civilians who were ready to fight the Turkish forces. Some 20 Australian officers served with Dunsterforce in the Caucasus Campaign and one party under Captain Stanley Savige was instrumental in protecting thousands of
Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyri ...
refugees. Australian nurses also staffed four British hospitals in
Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, and another 10 in India.


Australian Flying Corps


Formation

The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was formed in March 1914 and it was soon deployed to
German New Guinea German New Guinea (german: Deutsch-Neu-Guinea) consisted of the northeastern part of the island of New Guinea and several nearby island groups and was the first part of the German colonial empire. The mainland part of the territory, called , ...
, with one BE2c aircraft and crew dispatched with the AN&MEF, although the colonies surrendered before the plane was even unpacked. The first operational flights did not occur until 27 May 1915, when the Mesopotamian Half Flight was called upon to assist the Indian Army in protecting British oil interests in what is now
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. The Corps later saw action in Egypt, Palestine and on the Western Front throughout the remainder of the war. Organised into four operational squadrons in France and the Middle East and another four training squadrons in England, the AFC remained part of the AIF.


Mesopotamian Half Flight

The Mesopotamian Half-Flight—also known as the Australian Half-Flight—was the first AFC unit to see active service. On 8 February 1915, the
Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
had received a request from the
Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...
for air assistance in fighting the Turks. The AFC was still forming and could provide enough aircrew and ground staff for only half a flight: the unit therefore became known as the Mesopotamian Half-Flight and Captain Henry Petre was appointed commander. The AFC contingent sailed for
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, and on 20 April 1915 it left for
Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
, arriving at the end of May. Flying underpowered and unreliable aircraft such as the
Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...
, Maurice Farman Longhorn and Martinsyde, the Half-Flight suffered a high attrition rate, losing two killed and six captured out of its strength of just nine pilots. The arrival of reinforcements allowed the formation of a squadron, ( No. 30 Squadron RFC), however by November 1915 only one of the original pilots remained. The squadron was mainly involved in unarmed reconnaissance, although later small bombs were added to the aircraft. In October, three Australian aircraft bombed an Arab tribe known to be hostile in an unsuccessful attempt to bring them to surrender. During the
siege of Kut The siege of Kut Al Amara (7 December 1915 – 29 April 1916), also known as the first battle of Kut, was the besieging of an 8,000 strong British Army garrison in the town of Kut, south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. In 1915, its population ...
, the last Australian pilot in
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...
, Captain Petre, dropped supplies to the garrison. When Kut surrendered, the AFC ground crewmen located in the city were captured, seven of them later dying in captivity. Petre flew the only remaining
Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...
to Egypt on 7 December 1915, where he rendezvoused with No.1 Squadron AFC, effectively marking the end of the Half-Flight's service.


Operations in the Middle East

By late 1915 the AFC began forming complete squadrons. At British request No. 1 Squadron was dispatched to Egypt with 28 officers and 195 other ranks, where they were equipped with British aircraft including BE2c and Martinsyde G100. The squadron operated from Heliopolis, Palestine and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
over the next two years, supporting ground forces in all the major battles of the Palestine campaign against the Turks. Missions included aerial reconnaissance, bombing enemy positions, communications and artillery spotting. They were also involved in many air-to-air battles with German aircraft, while it was in this theatre that the Australians first encountered anti-aircraft fire. The squadron was re-equipped in 1917 with BE2a, RE8 and Martinsyde G102 aircraft, while by 1918 these types were replaced with Bristol F.2 Fighters. Notably during this time Lieutenant Frank McNamara was awarded the Victoria Cross for rescuing another Australian pilot who had been shot down by ground fire and forced to land close to Turkish positions on 20 March 1917. No. 1 Squadron also took part in the actions at
Wadi Fara Wadi Fara is a seasonal watercourse, or wadi, in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. It runs from the confluence of the Wadi Asimah and Wadi Sidr, to the village of Ghayl. A wide and fertile wadi, its rich wildlife includes a novel species of ...
on 21 September 1918 as part of the Battle of Megiddo, which witnessed the destruction of the bulk of the Turkish Seventh Army by British airpower.


Fighting on the Western Front

Additional AFC squadrons began forming in Australia for service on the Western Front, with No. 2, 3 and 4 Squadrons arriving in France between August and December 1917. No. 2 Squadron, equipped with DH5s, was subsequently involved in the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917, conducting patrol duties, ground strafing and bombing enemy troops and positions. Casualties were high with 7 of the squadrons 18 aircraft shot down, and 2 pilots lost. No. 3 Squadron, equipped with RE8s, was supporting the final phase of the
Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...
in Flanders, conducting mainly artillery spotting duties. No. 4 Squadron, equipped with Sopwith Camels, was the last to arrive in France, and was assigned to the First Army around Lens. Notably during March 1918 the squadron was engaged in aerial combat with aircraft commanded by
Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...
—known as the 'Red Baron'—shooting down two German aircraft for the loss of one of their own. The Lens sector had been relatively quiet until 21 March 1918 when the Germans launched a major offensive, with No. 4 Squadron heavily engaged in low-level bombing to support the 4th Australian Division. The Australian squadrons played a limited role in the allied advance from
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
on 8 August 1918, with No. 3 Squadron engaged in reconnaissance and contact patrols to help identify the locations of forward troops. They also undertook extensive aerial photography to aid in remapping and the locating of German artillery positions. During this period Nos. 2 and 4 Squadrons were in the
Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...
–Arras area and were involved in patrols and raids on the railways in the vicinity of
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
. With the Germans in retreat during September 1918, the squadrons felt considerable pressure just keeping up. Regardless, No. 4 Squadron took part in, perhaps its most spectacular action, in the very last weeks of the war. On 29 October, 15 Australian Sopwith Snipes encountered more than 60 German Fokkers, in an action which became one of the largest air battles of the war. The Australians gained the upper hand and 10 Fokkers were shot down for the loss of one Snipe, and the damage of several others. During their time on the Western Front, No. 2 and No 4. Squadrons had been used mainly in the fighter role, while No. 3 Squadron was primarily used for reconnaissance. No. 4 Squadron became the most successful fighter squadron in France, accounting for 199 enemy aircraft, while No. 2 Squadron was credited with the destruction of 185. The total AFC casualties on the Western Front included 78 killed, 68 wounded and 33 taken prisoner. Following the end of the war on 11 November 1918, No. 4 Squadron was the only Australian unit assigned to the British Army of Occupation, arriving in Germany in December and being based in
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
. The three AFC squadrons subsequently handed over their equipment to the RAF in February 1919 and returned to Australia where they disbanded.


Legacy

Despite Australian military aviation being in its infancy, the AFC's identity as a separate national force was considered important, not to mention unusual. Thousands of aircrew from the other Dominions—such as New Zealand and Canada—flew with the
Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...
and
Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
, and their unified successor force after 1 April 1918, the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
during the war, without gaining the benefits of command and the administrative experience which came with an independent air service. By the end of the war, four squadrons had seen active service, 460 officers and 2,234 other ranks had served in the AFC, and another 200 men had served as aircrew in the British flying services. Casualties included 175 dead, 111 wounded, 6 gassed and 40 captured. The AFC was disbanded after the war, being replaced in 1920 by the Australian Air Corps, which became the
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
in 1921.


Royal Australian Navy operations

At the outbreak of war the Royal Australian Navy consisted of the
battlecruiser The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
, the
light cruiser A light cruiser is a type of small or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck. Prior to th ...
s ''Sydney'', and (under construction), the
destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...
s , and , and the submarines ''AE1'' and . Three more destroyers were also under construction. The Squadron was under the command of Rear Admiral Sir George E. Patey, a British admiral who was knighted on the deck of the ''Australia'' before it departed England in 1913. The first naval operation of the war was in support of the
Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) was a small volunteer force of approximately 2,000 men, raised in Australia shortly after the outbreak of World War I to seize and destroy German wireless stations in German New Gui ...
during the occupation of German New Guinea. The naval portion of the force included the ''Australia'', ''Melbourne'', ''Sydney'', ''Warrego'', ''Encounter'', and submarine ''AE1''. The only loss during the New Guinea Campaign occurred when the ''AE1'' disappeared on 14 September 1914, taking three officers and 32 men with it. The first major RAN victory of the war occurred when the cruiser, HMAS ''Sydney'' sank the German light cruiser, off the
Cocos Islands ) , anthem = "''Advance Australia Fair''" , song_type = , song = , image_map = Australia on the globe (Cocos (Keeling) Islands special) (Southeast Asia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands , map_caption = ...
in the Indian Ocean on 9 November 1914. Four Australians were killed in the engagement and another 12 were wounded. Ships of the RAN helped provide naval cover for the ambitious landings at
Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...
, and the submarine ''AE2'' broke the blockade of the Dardanelles to harass Turkish shipping but was later sunk and her crew captured in the Sea of Marmara. In 1915 the light cruisers ''Melbourne'' and ''Sydney'' were deployed to the Atlantic where they worked alongside the Royal Navy's North American and West Indies Squadrons, which were engaged in surveillance operations on the large number of German ships that had taken refuge in neutral American ports when the war had broken out. This continued until September 1916 when both cruisers were moved to the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...
where they joined ''Australia'', which had been assisting the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
in its blockade of the German High Seas Fleet. During this time the RAN also continued to carry out operations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. By 1915 there were up to 74 German ships which had taken refuge in ports in the Netherlands East Indies. The presence of these ships close to Australia and the sea lanes that connected the nation to the United Kingdom and the Middle East was a cause of concern to the Navy and so in the middle of 1915 the cruiser and the sloop ''Fantome'' were sent to the
Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line bet ...
to conduct patrol operations. Later in the year, in October, a force of three destroyers, a yacht and the cruiser ''Encounter'' were sent into the Macassar Strait to search for a German munitions base that had been reported in the area. Nothing was found, although the patrol served to interrupt German efforts to carry out subversive activities in a number of British possessions. In May 1917 the British government requested assistance from the Australian government in dealing with the increasing threat posed by German
U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...
s. Six destroyers—the ''Warrego'', , ''Yarra'', , and —were sent in response to this request, and undertook anti-submarine operations in the
Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...
, working out of Brindisi, Italy as part of the
Otranto Barrage The Otranto Barrage was an Allied naval blockade of the Otranto Straits between Brindisi in Italy and Corfu on the Greek side of the Adriatic Sea in the First World War. The blockade was intended to prevent the Austro-Hungarian Navy from esca ...
. The most decorated RAN unit of the war was the Bridging Train. A reserve unit commanded by
Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...
Leighton Bracegirdle, it supported the British at Suvla Bay during the Gallipoli Campaign by constructing piers and harbours in the bay. Afterwards it served in Egypt and Palestine, taking part in an amphibious assault in El Arish and the First Battle of Gaza before it was disbanded in 1917. A number of members later went on to serve with the AIF and RAN. During the war the RAN lost 171 men killed, including 15 officers and 156 sailors, of which six officers and 57 sailors had been on loan from the Royal Navy.


Home front


Australian Military Forces on home service

Although the main focus of Australia's military during World War I was overseas in Europe and the Middle East, there was still a necessity to maintain troops in Australia on home service to carry out a number of essential tasks. As the AIF was otherwise engaged these duties out of necessity fell to the soldiers of the militia and a small number of regular soldiers. In the early stages of mobilisation a number of militia infantry battalions were called out to carry out guard duties upon infrastructure that was considered important to the war effort, such as munitions factories, communications facilities, ammunition dumps and transportation centres. 500 men from the Kennedy Regiment were sent to Thursday Island from Townsville to garrison the island in response to a possible threat from German forces in the Pacific. Additionally, militia troops were used to establish and guard internment camps and garrison artillery and engineer units from the militia were also mobilised to assist the regular units that were manning coastal defences. By the end of 1914 the naval situation in the Pacific had eased to a large extent due to the sinking of the ''Emden'', and it was decided that there was no longer a need to maintain guards on many of the less important facilities, and instead it was decided to concentrate the home defence network upon maintaining the coastal defences and on guarding ships while they were in port. Nevertheless, in the larger seaports these precautions required the commitment of considerable resources, requiring several hundred men to provide security. The requirement for the militia to undertake these duties was eased, however, when a special corps was raised from men that had been rejected for service with the AIF, to which a corps of garrison military police that had served in the AIF was added later. The militia garrison artillery and engineers were required throughout the war, however, to man the coastal defences. Despite the fact that after 1915 it was decided that only small garrisons were required on active service, the militia was ordered to maintain their readiness in case they were required to be called out and such was the importance placed upon their role that to a large extent they were barred from joining the AIF for overseas service. In February 1916 a large-scale effort by militia artillerymen to enlist in the artillery units that were being raised for the 3rd Division was prevented when they were called out to man the coastal defences due to the threat posed by a German commerce raider that was believed to be in the Pacific. This mobilisation lasted until April 1916, when the garrisons were again reduced and the ban on men serving in militia artillery and engineer units volunteering for overseas service was lifted. In April 1918 the militia artillery was again mobilised, although this time only for a month, when news that the German commerce raiders ''Wolf'' and ''Seeadler'' had entered Australian waters the previous year. In June 1918 the number of troops actively employed on home service was 9,215, of which 2,476 were regulars. At this time the Navy took over the task of providing guards for ships in harbour and communications facilities, thus allowing for many of the militia troops to be released for further training, and as such it was decided to increase the period of camp training for the militia from eight days to 24.


Conscription

Throughout World War I the Australian forces deployed overseas were all volunteers, however, on the home front there was considerable debate about the issue of conscription. Conscription had been a contentious issue ever since Federation and when the AIF was initially raised in 1914 it had been decided that it would be an all-volunteer force due to the provisions of the ''Defence Act'' that precluded sending conscripts overseas. Nevertheless, as the war progressed, casualties amongst the deployed forces began to reach alarming rates and as the flow of reinforcements and recruits for the AIF began to drop in 1916, the issue of conscription rose once more. In Australia, however, public opinion about the matter was divided with many Australians opposed to the issue on moral grounds, feeling that the situation was not desperate enough to require such a drastic measure, while others felt it necessary in order to achieve final victory. The
Hughes Hughes may refer to: People * Hughes (surname) * Hughes (given name) Places Antarctica * Hughes Range (Antarctica), Ross Dependency * Mount Hughes, Oates Land * Hughes Basin, Oates Land * Hughes Bay, Graham Land * Hughes Bluff, Victoria La ...
Labor government decided to hold a
plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of ...
on the matter and on 28 October 1916 the matter was decided by a narrow margin of 51 per cent to 49 per cent, with the no vote prevailing. Despite the result, the issue split the Labor Party and the pro-conscription prime minister, Billy Hughes, ultimately left the party and joined with members of the opposition that supported conscription to form a new party, known as the Nationalist Party. As manpower shortages on the Western Front began to become acute, a second plebiscite was held on 20 December 1917. This time it was defeated by an even greater margin of 94,152 votes. This effectively put an end to plans to expand the AIF in France and ultimately led to severe manpower shortages that the AIF in France experienced in 1917 and 1918. As a result, plans to expand the force to a 6th Division were shelved and its manpower distributed amongst the other five divisions, while the five divisions were amalgamated together under the banner of the Australian Corps, thus effectively allowing the 4th Division, which was struggling to maintain its numbers to act as a depot formation within the Corps with the other three divisions providing most of the combat power. As the war continued, the manpower shortages continued. Wounded men were being pressed back into service, and there were cases of "combat refusal" by the 1st and 59th Battalions. On 23 September 1918, Monash ordered the breakup of some under-strength battalions to reinforce others. In the AIF the battalion was the source of pride and identification for the men, rather than the regiment as in the British Army, so in some cases this order was defied – some men, who were not eligible to draw rations as their unit no longer officially existed, lived by stealing food or sharing with other units. Monash rescinded the order for a while but eventually "the Heads" (as Australians called their senior officers) enforced the change by marching off companies by night into different battalions. The change ultimately proved unnecessary as the war ended shortly after.


Internment, censorship and other special measures

The global nature of the war meant that many functions that were previously vested in the individual Australian state governments had to be placed under the control of the Commonwealth government. Additionally, the exigencies of the war meant that the government required the power to enact certain laws that under the Constitution it would not normally be able to do. In order to enable this to occur, the '' War Precautions Act 1914'' was introduced in October 1914, providing the Commonwealth government with wide-ranging powers for a period of up to six months after the duration of the war. The main provisions of the Act were focused upon allowing the Commonwealth to enact legislation that was required for the smooth prosecution of the war. The main areas in which legislation was enacted under the ''War Precautions Act'' were: the prevention of trade with hostile nations, the creation of loans to raise money for the war effort, the introduction of a national taxation scheme, the fixing of the prices of certain goods, the internment of people considered a danger to the war effort, the compulsory purchase of strategic goods, and the censorship of the media. At the outbreak of the war there were about 35,000 people who had been born in either Germany or Austria-Hungary living in Australia. Due to large-scale German migration in the late 19th century, there were also an inestimable number of people of German origin, many of whom maintained an affinity for their ancestral roots. Many of these were naturalised Australians, and indeed it is believed that many men of German origin enlisted in the AIF. However, due to concerns about the loyalties of some members of the German and Austrian communities, internment camps were set up where those suspected of unpatriotic acts were sent. In total it is believed that 4,500 people were interned under the provisions of the ''War Precautions Act'', of which 700 were naturalised Australians and 70 Australian-born. Following the end of the war, 6,150 were deported. There was a considerable public backlash to the way in which some of the provisions of the ''War Precautions Act'' were applied, particularly in relation to certain sections of the community such as trade unions and other sections of the community that were for various reasons not as sympathetic to the British cause as the wider community. Indeed, in 1917, following the suppression of a prominent trade union and the jailing of 12 of its members on charges of
sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, esta ...
and sabotage, it seemed as if Australia's war effort might have been in danger of breaking down. After the war, the continued operation of the ''War Precautions Act'' led to considerable social and political unrest in late 1918 and into 1919 and a number of violent incidents broke out. The most notable of these was the so-called
Red Flag Riots The Red Flag riots were a series of violent demonstrations and attacks that occurred in Brisbane, Australia over the course of 1918–19.Dennis et al. 1995, p. 493. The attacks were largely undertaken by returned soldiers from the First Austral ...
in Brisbane, in 1919.


Economy

At the outset of the war, Australia's economy had been quite small and dependent largely upon agriculture and the resources industries for export earnings, while most manufactured products were imported from overseas. Almost immediately uncertainty over the continuation of foreign trade led to a rise in unemployment, indeed it was estimated that after only a couple of days of Britain having declared war, that up to 15,000 men had been retrenched in New South Wales alone due to concerns about the continued availability of foreign markets for Australian produce. These initial concerns, however, were short lived, at least in the beginning as the British government provided assurances that it would underwrite a large amount of the war risk insurance for shipping in order to allow trade amongst the Commonwealth to continue. Shortly thereafter the wartime direction of trade began when the British asked the Australian government to place certain restrictions upon overseas trade in order to secure resources vital to the war effort and to limit the ability of the Central Powers from obtaining these goods from Commonwealth nations via neutral third parties. To an extent these restrictions served to reduce the ability of Australian producers to find buyers for their products, at least initially, however, in many cases the British stepped in to buy these goods, thus alleviating Australian concerns about a significant reduction in the standard of living. This understanding proved particularly beneficial for the wool and wheat industries, where the British government undertook to buy Australian products even though the shortage of shipping meant that there was no chance that they would ever receive them. On the whole Australian commerce was expanded due to the war, although the cost of the war was quite considerable and the Australian government had to borrow considerably from overseas to fund the war effort. In terms of value, Australian exports rose almost 45 per cent, while the number of Australians employed in the manufacturing industry increased over 11 per cent. This was due in the most part to the reduced ability of traditional sources to continue supplying Australia with manufactured products, which out of necessity stimulated the development of the Australian manufacturing industry. In terms of goods produced indigenously, it was estimated that due to the inability of traditional suppliers to deliver manufactured goods because of trade embargoes and shipping shortages up to 400 new articles were produced in Australian factories as a result of the war. This was not an insignificant number, although the transformation of the Australian economy as a result of World War I was by no means as significant as that which occurred during World War II. The expansion of the steel industry that occurred during this time laid the foundation for future industrialisation. Despite this increase in the domestic manufacturing industry there was still a significant shortfall in many items. In part this was due to the priority that military consumption and production necessarily had over civilian, however, there was also a considerable scarcity of raw materials and other components required for manufacturing. This was due both to the lack of shipping available from the United Kingdom, as well as the limitations placed upon the flow of such goods from Britain due to their own increased requirements. The result of this was inflationary. Domestic prices went up, while the cost of exports was deliberately kept lower than market value in an effort to prevent further inflationary pressures worldwide. As a result, the cost of living for many average Australians was increased considerably. An increase in the trade union movement was an inevitable corollary of this and during the war years there was a considerable increase in the membership of the various unions. Despite the considerable rises in the costs of many basic items, the government sought to maintain wages largely as they were. Although the average weekly wage during the war was increased by between 8–12 per cent, it was not enough to keep up with inflation and as a result there was considerable discontent amongst workers, to the extent that industrial action followed. Not all of these disputes were due to economic factors, and indeed in some part they were the result of violent opposition to the issue of conscription, which many trade unionists were opposed to. Nevertheless, the result was very disruptive and it has been estimated that between 1914 and 1918 there were 1,945 industrial disputes, resulting in 8,533,061 working days lost and £4,785,607 in lost wages. Overall, the war had a significantly negative impact on the Australia economy. Real aggregate
Gross Domestic Product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is of ...
(GDP) declined by 9.5 per cent over the period 1914 to 1920, while the mobilization of personnel resulted in a 6 per cent decline in civilian employment. Meanwhile, although population growth continued during the war years, it was only half that of the prewar rate. Per capita incomes also declined sharply, falling by 16 per cent.


After the war


Repatriation and demobilisation

Following the end of hostilities in Europe the Australian government decided against contributing Australian forces to the occupation forces that were sent to Germany as part of the post war settlement so that it could begin the repatriation of the AIF early. Lieutenant General Sir John Monash was appointed Director-General of Repatriation and Demobilisation and oversaw the process in Britain, while Lieutenant General Henry Chauvel took charge of the efforts in the Middle East. Rather than employing a system that returned men by units, or by employment categories, it was decided to use an egalitarian system that saw men who had been away for the longest period of time being returned first. Due to the size of the forces deployed overseas—roughly 167,000 personnel in France, Britain and Egypt—and the logistical requirements of bringing them home the process was nevertheless a lengthy one and as such it became important to occupy the troops while they waited. In order to achieve this and to prepare the men for a return to civilian employment, a vocational education scheme was set up by George Long and troops in Britain were offered educational courses and civilian work placement opportunities and although these programs were not as successful as hoped, several thousand soldiers took advantage of them. Some Australians decided to delay their departure and instead joined the British Army and went on to serve in Northern Russia during the
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
, although officially the Australian government refused to contribute forces to the campaign. HMAS ''Yarra'', ''Torrens'', ''Swan'' and ''Parramatta'' served in the Black Sea during the same conflict. Elsewhere, in Egypt in early 1919, a number of Australian light horse units were used to quell a nationalist uprising while they were waiting for passage back to Australia. Despite shortages in shipping, the process of returning the soldiers to Australia was completed faster than expected and by September 1919 there were 10,000 men still left in Britain waiting for repatriation. The last of the main transports conveying Australian troops left England on 23 December 1919, arriving in Australia in early 1920. A year later, on 1 April 1921, the AIF was officially disbanded. The process of repatriation did not end there, though. Upon their return to Australia the effort shifted towards placing the returned soldiers into employment, or education and taking care of those that were too badly injured to work. In order to meet these needs the Commonwealth established the Repatriation Department, tasked with managing the placement of returned soldiers into employment, training, education, housing. Eventually this also included the colossal task of managing the provision of war pensions, managing repatriation hospitals and convalescent homes and administering the Soldier Settlement Scheme. The total cost of these provisions was considerable, and in June 1935 it was estimated to have cost approximately £238,000,000 which was more than the total amount spent on defence during the war. In order to advocate for the many thousands of returned servicemen and women many ex-services organisations sprang up. The most prominent of these was probably the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia which had been established in 1916 by representatives from many state-based organisations already in existence. Following the war this organisation grew in its political influence as its numbers grew and was very active in the repatriation process, advocating for financial entitlements for veterans and securing concessions for soldiers returning to civilian employment. By 1919 it was estimated to have 150,000 members although this fell dramatically in the mid-1920s.


Legacy

The war affected Australia in many ways, although arguably not as greatly as it did the many European nations that were more directly involved. Economically the war had a number of significant impacts, although the Great Depression would later prove far more significant and Australian industry was not as greatly transformed as it would be following World War II. The political landscape was also transformed due to the rifts that resulted from the issue of conscription, while to a smaller extent the role of women in society also evolved as more women entered the workforce. Indeed, between 1914 and 1918 there had been a 13 per cent increase in the employment of women; however, this was mainly in areas where women were traditionally employed. Equally, although around 2,000 women were employed as nurses in the AIF, there was no great involvement of women in the military during the war. Another legacy was the manner in which it led to the emergence—albeit only fleetingly—of an independence in Australian foreign affairs. Although previously Australian foreign interests had been largely handled by Britain, as a combatant Australia sent its own delegation to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, while it also began to take a more assertive role in regional affairs in the Pacific. At the peace conference Prime Minister Hughes pushed aggressively for reparations and an Australian mandate over German New Guinea; a stance which conflicted with the liberal internationalist inspired Fourteen Points put forward by American President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
. Regardless, following the war there was little real change in Imperial relations and Dominion affairs, and as a result the war arguably did not lead to any significant change in Australia's perception of its role in the world. Indeed, profound change would only occur following the Japanese crisis of 1942, which ultimately saw Australia pursue a foreign policy more independent of Britain, and an alliance with the United States. Perhaps the greatest effect of the war was a psychological one. The heavy losses deeply affected many directly, and war memorials were built all over the country as people sought to remember those that had been killed. However, despite the size of Australia's contribution to the fighting, there were many Australians who had had no actual experience of it. Realising this, and having witnessed the impact of the war first hand, Charles Bean, who was instrumental in editing and writing the official history of Australia's involvement in the war, advocated the need for a national memorial and was one of the main architects in establishing the
Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving pe ...
in Canberra. The experience of the war also perpetuated many notions about the Australian character and national identity that endure to this day. For many Australians the performance of their soldiers—particularly during the failed Gallipoli campaign—served to highlight the nation's emergence as a member of the international community, while bringing to the fore a belief in Australians' natural ability as soldiers. The attitudes of many Australians towards war itself were also greatly affected. There was a widespread revulsion at the large-scale destruction and loss of life that had occurred and a desire that it should never occur again. In many regards this led to a general complacency towards defence and military matters after the war and arguably led to the nation's lack of preparedness for the next major conflict, while it may still be evident in Australian strategic behaviour to this day.


Statistics

During World War I over 421,809 Australians served in the military with 331,781 serving overseas. Over 60,000 Australians lost their lives and 137,000 were wounded. As a percentage of forces committed, this equalled a casualty rate of almost 65 per cent, one of the highest casualty rates among the British Empire forces. The financial cost of the war to the Australian government was £188,480,000.


See also

* Australian Army battle honours of World War I * List of Australian diarists of World War I


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Historiography

* Parsons, George. "Historians and the First World War." ''AQ - Australian Quarterly'' 82#1, 2010, p. 37+
online


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial: Deaths as a result of service with Australian units

Australian Light Horse Studies Centre
* Beaumont, Joan
Australia
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* Seal, Graham
Anzac (Australia)
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* Westerman, William
Warfare 1914–1918 (Australia)
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* Stanley, Peter
Between Acceptance and Refusal – Soldiers' Attitudes Towards War (Australia)
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* Connor, John
Civilian and Military Power (Australia)
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* Connor, John
Governments, Parliaments and Parties (Australia)
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* Wilcox, Craig
Pre-war Military Planning (Australia)
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* Robertson, Emily
Propaganda at Home (Australia)
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* Beaumont, Joan
War Aims and War Aims Discussions (Australia)
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* Noonan, David C.
War Losses (Australia)
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* Frances, Rae
Women’s Mobilisation for War (Australia)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:World War I
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...